Even If Your Regret Tries to Hold Me Back - Chapter 34

The streets on Sunday morning were quiet.

The usually bustling shopping district had also closed most stores except for a few restaurants, wrapped in the atmosphere of a holiday.

The knights Ian had left to their own devices were currently strolling through the peaceful streets under the languid sunlight.

A red-haired knight scurried up beside the knight at the very front of the group. He had a youthful face still on the border between boy and young man. With the vigor characteristic of red hair, he asked boldly.

“But Captain, is it really okay for us to be so leisurely? You drank too much yesterday, and today you’re drooping like a sick chicken from your hangover. I think instead of doing this here, we should focus on the commercial district again…”

“This is why you can’t escape being the eternal youngest.”

A voice that cut him off stopped his words. It was a voice that dripped with annoyance in every single syllable.

“You can’t solve problems with passion alone, Odyssey. People aren’t machines—they need rest to function. At least enjoy yourself when Sir Cedrick isn’t around.”

The man Odyssey had called captain, Elai, walked lazily with his waist loosely bent in a relaxed posture.

If Dion had been beside him, he would have at least pretended to search. But with even him gone, there was no one to stop the lazy knight.

“Besides, you’re supposed to forget about things like this comfortably. Then they’ll naturally appear. You know, like in plays or old stories—the more foolish you are, the luckier you get.”

‘But it seems like you’ve forgotten a bit too comfortably…’

Odyssey barely swallowed his inner thoughts with the help of eighteen years of cultivated social skills. He widened his stride to keep up and continued the conversation.

“Then maybe Sakin, who ran away from home yesterday, might be the first to find him.”

“He didn’t run away from home—he couldn’t make it back. I already bet 300 krsants with Eden that that fool would be the first to find our lord.”

“Already?”

Odyssey’s eyes widened as he turned only his upper body backward while continuing to walk.

“Then who did Eden bet on?”

“……”

A man with neatly hanging long silver hair adjusted his glasses that had slipped down his nose and looked at the questioner. A quiet gaze continued through the clean glass lenses.

He stared at Odyssey intently, then lowered his head back to the book he was reading.

“…What? What does that mean? Why do I feel uneasy?”

Odyssey scratched the back of his neck and made a “tsk” sound with his mouth. Elai patted down his red mane-like hair as if soothing him.

“Mmm, it doesn’t mean anything. Who could understand the thoughts of a weirdo who holds books instead of swords? Don’t worry about it.”

“No, but he just answered with his eyes… Ugh.”

Odyssey, who had been walking along the corner of the street, collided with a group coming out of an alley.

His skin turned as red as his hair color due to the friction from hitting nose-first. He rubbed his nose bridge and complained.

“Please watch where you’re going. How does it make sense to bump into someone when the street is this wide?”

“That may be true for you, but this was an alley on our side.”

“Then you should have looked before coming out… Wait.”

Odyssey removed his hand from his reddened nose bridge and narrowed his eyes.

“Well, look at this. Aren’t these the same guys from before?”

“What guys?”

Elai asked back, facing him as he shot obviously suspicious glances.

Odyssey answered enthusiastically, using hand gestures, foot movements, and even head nods.

“I mean, why, they have exactly the same appearance as the guys Aide Dion complained about getting mugged by. Suddenly bumping into us from an alley, deeply pulled-down robes, mountain-like builds, fierce auras!”

Despite Odyssey’s accusation, Elai glanced back nonchalantly.

“If that’s the case, we have one on our side too.”

Then one knight hid his large build tightly under his robe like a turtle retreating into its shell. He was a knight who reproduced exactly the appearance Odyssey had described.

A deeply pulled-down robe, a mountain-like build, a subdued aura beneath still movements.

Even though he clearly knew it was about him, he remained as silent as a heavy mountain.

Elai withdrew his gaze from him immediately, as if he hadn’t expected a reaction in the first place.

While this one had different reasons, robed attire was actually common in this region. It was an outer garment worn by people of all ages and genders to protect their skin from the harsh sea winds.

However, there was no stopping Odyssey, whose detective passion had already been ignited.

He grabbed the collar of a man about a span taller than himself and lifted it up.

“You must have been excited thinking you caught a good mark back then. But we’re different, you know? We won’t fall for it twice, so don’t think about going quietly this time!”

Clack, clack, clack.

The group standing upright behind the man took attack positions all at once in an instant.

Finally, Elai stepped forward first to stop Odyssey.

“That’s enough, Odyssey. Sir Cedrick would cry if he heard this.”

He removed Odyssey’s hand from the man’s nape and smiled good-naturedly.

“Oh my, this kid is still at that hot-blooded age and lacks maturity. We apologize, haha.”

“No, let me go! What did I… Ugh!”

Elai wrapped his arm around the still-resisting youngest knight’s neck and pulled him back. The sword hilt at his waist clinked against Odyssey’s foot.

The robed man’s eyes instantly fixed on that spot.

“Knights?”

At the crisp voice, Elai’s eyebrows rose.

“Is there a problem?”

The next moment, he was finally able to face the man properly.

The man answered as he removed the robe covering his face.

“We’re the same.”

The man who revealed his bare face was unexpectedly a middle-aged knight with a gentle impression. A scar crossing the end of his eyebrow was the only rough part that could be found on his face.

His brown hair, half-covering his forehead, had grayish strands mixed in here and there, telling of the years he had lived.

Though the vivid vigor of his youth had faded, his eyes, containing the wisdom of a calm lake, sparkled for a moment.

“Since we’re near the coast, how about having a sparring match? If you’re proper knights, it’s best to resolve collided emotions with swords.”

Well, look at this.

Elai raised the corners of his mouth with an interested snort.

****

The two groups of knights didn’t stop until they reached a bay surrounded by wide rock formations.

The middle-aged knight, finding a relatively flat area, suggested first.

“This seems like a good spot. What do you think?”

“Anywhere is fine with us.”

“Then we’ll see you in a moment.”

The two groups split in half. The knights, each taking about ten steps apart, faced each other across the space created between them, using it as a sparring ground.

“Do your best, Captain!”

Odyssey waved his arms and shouted from behind Elai, who was cracking his neck this way and that.

Instead of responding to the enthusiastic cheering, Elai jerked his chin forward.

“Stop talking nonsense and go quickly.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Then should I, who’s already feeling like my head’s about to split from a hangover and drooping like a sick chicken, go instead of leaving a perfectly healthy, hot-blooded young guy?”

“You seem fine considering you spoke without taking a breath.”

“Should I make your head split too?”

“No sir!”

Odyssey, who had shouted loudly with deep breathing, strode forward. However, after taking a few steps, he stopped and looked back.

“But it seems like they’re showing consideration for the younger person rather than respecting their elders.”

The representative from the other side was that middle-aged knight from before.

Elai tapped Odyssey’s crown with his sword sheath and jerked his chin again, telling him to continue.

“Don’t you know that you have to untie the knots you’ve tied yourself?”

“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind!”

After another roaring response, the two knights finally faced each other.

After briefly exchanging formal greetings, the friction sound of swords being drawn could be heard from both sides.

While slowly circling without lowering his guard, the middle-aged knight asked.

“Which organization are you from?”

“Hmm… We’re currently working for a trading company.”

“Mercenaries?”

“You could say that…”

Clang!

The clashing sword blades burst with sharp metallic sound.

Odyssey deflected the sudden attack with quick movement. The middle-aged knight spoke to him in a somewhat surprised tone.

“A mere ordinary knight from a trading company has quite good skills.”

“We’re also people who have a lot to protect.”

Odyssey, who then delivered the next attack, quickly penetrated the middle-aged knight’s flank.

“Originally, the more desperate someone is, the better their sword listens, right?”

The middle-aged knight laughed briefly at the answer filled with suppressed vigor. After that, dozens of exchanges followed.

The sound of clashing blades filled the quiet coast without rest. As the fight lasted longer than expected, the concentration of both groups gradually increased.

And when a faint smile appeared on Elai’s lips as he watched.

Scraaape!

Odyssey, who had scraped the clashing blade all the way inside, struck the opponent’s abdomen hard with the sword handle.

The middle-aged knight coughed dryly and stepped backward. As he regripped his sword, blue veins bulged on his rolled-up forearms.

Dozens more exchanges followed. The tide of battle, which had been evenly matched at the beginning, gradually began to tilt toward Odyssey’s side.

Odyssey made full use of his nimble speed to press the middle-aged knight. Age spares no one, and the middle-aged knight’s heels were gradually pushed back.

Finally, what was expected to be the last decisive blow was delivered. Odyssey sensed victory.

—Clang!

The next moment, a masterless sword rolled across the rock formation. Odyssey blinked slowly with his chest, swollen from heavy breathing, deflating.

‘This can’t be.’

The sword that had fallen to the ground was his own.

The middle-aged knight, who had taken one rough breath, sheathed his sword and announced the end.

“That was fun after a long time.”

Odyssey, who couldn’t understand the situation that had been reversed in the blink of an eye, opened his mouth blankly.

Elai, who had been watching from behind throughout, inwardly admired the middle-aged knight’s movement.

It wasn’t a remarkable technique. It was just a movement that caught him off guard.

In a duel where there wasn’t an overwhelming difference in weight class, if he had misjudged his strength, he could have been countered instead.

But he had momentarily let his strength slide and immediately countered. That series of movements was both flexible and resolute. At the same time, it was so tight that there was no gap to escape.

‘Interesting movement. It’s exactly like… how should I put it…’

It seemed more like a technique for survival than for fighting.

Not the art of breaking through walls, but the wisdom of climbing over them.

He bowed respectfully to the middle-aged knight, then grabbed the nape of the still bewildered youngest knight and dragged him away.

“Let’s go. We’re busy if we want to find the guy who didn’t come home last night too.”

Since he was at an age where even broken bones would heal after sleeping for a few days, Odyssey fortunately recovered quickly. He rubbed his stiff neck against his clothes and grumbled.

“You just say that but always slack off. If Sir Cedrick saw—”

“That’s why we’re moving just among ourselves. What, don’t you like it?”

“No. I was going to suggest we continue doing this.”

Elai thoroughly tousled Odyssey’s sweat-dampened red hair and put his arm around his shoulder.

Then he casually dropped a comment.

“You did well.”

Only then did a beaming smile spread across Odyssey’s lips.

“I’ll do better next time.”

They were followed by one silent knight and one knight wearing glasses.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged knight sat down heavily on the rock formation and gazed at the distant horizon. A group gathered around him as well. A light touch landed on his shoulder, cooled by the sea breeze.

“If it weren’t for the madam, you would have lost, sir.”

“No. As I age, I’m not what I used to be either.”

“You’re still more vigorous than I am.”

“There’s nothing to give you even if you flatter me.”

“I’m being sincere.”

The young knight sat down beside him in the same cross-legged position and smiled softly.

The middle-aged knight also laughed along good-naturedly. Then his gaze was caught by a sail fluttering in the distance. It was a red color that reminded him of someone.

Perhaps because of the hair color, someone had come to mind since he had crossed swords with the young knight earlier.

It was also the person from whom he had borrowed the technique.

The living ghost of Evergale.

That was what Walter Agyle thought of Helena.